The Wellingtion Independent Friday, January 18,1861. THE DISCOMFITED RADICALS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1490, 18 January 1861, Page 5

The Wellingtion Independent Friday, January 18, 1861. THE DISCOMFITED RADICALS.

" Great wits to madnesj sure, are near allied And r thin' partitions do their bounds divide." For the first time since we have chronicled their movements, we have come to the conclusion (guided by the above venerable dtsticth) that the Wellington Radicals must be "great wits," only that they have very decidedly passed through tbe ?' thin partition" which did "divide" them from the neighbouring territory. In fact, in no other way can their recent doings be accounted for, than by supposing that the loss of tne respec- ' table portion of the party, has involved the loss of all the reason that — as a party -r-t^ey ever possessed. The proof of this is given in their recent proceedings, to .which we propose now briefly to refer, though for the sake of distinctness, we must recapitulate some things that have ' previously been noticed. About sever* weeks ago, the Provincial Council passed^ resolution, asking the General Government "to diseol^ the

Superintendent " and also the Council " without delay," This resolution they forwarded direct to Auckland, and as the members of the Ministry do happen with all their short-coming 3, to be' aware of the common usages of de--1 cent society, they wrote back asking the , Superintendent if he concurred in the I request^ and at tho same time tqpk jthe opportunity to inform the Council that they had done so. As it happened — we should have supposed accidentally, had it not been for the high tone of offended dignity that Mr. Wakefield chose to as- 1 sume— the letter to the Superintendent wa3 signed by Mr. Stafford, the Colonial Secretary, and the letter to the Council by one of the clerks in the Under Secretary's office, which circumstance whether accidental or otherwise, was construed into an intentional want of respect. We will not deny that it is possible that this construction is correct, but if so it only shows that the Ministry as well as every body else are so thoroughly tired of the whole lot, that finding they could no longer be made of any use, they have unceremoniously thrown them overboard. However, as the dissolution which these so-called Radicals had asked for, was now brought within easy reach, it might have been expected that they would have been contented, but unfortunately like the man who could not be satisfied whether the drummer struck high or low, they seemed suddenly to find out that the thing they had got, was precisely that which they did not want. Therefore when the letter had been read to the Council by the Speaker on Tuesday evening, and Mr. Fitzherbert had read the letter to the Superintendent, and proposed an adjournment for a week in consequence of his Honor's absence, that he (the Superintendent) might have the opportunity of replying to the letter he had received and of informing the Council of the nature of his reply, Mr. Wakefield in answer, proposed a general resignation, in order as he modestly put it, that there might be a second general election in or about next November, assigning as a reason the present state of the Electoral Roll ! In other words, the" evident meaning of his language was, " Gentlemen, we perceive that you have got the game in your own hands : — that you will be sure to win by the " honours " you hold, and that we cannot countervail this by all our " tricks," we therefore ask you to throw up your cards and take your chance of another deal, after we have sorted the pack so as to suit ourselves." As a matter of course this very tempting proposition was declined, and Mr. Wakefield was therefore obliged to give notice of his motion for the next night, but when that came, the members of the Government and their friends, apparently thinking that they had done all that was required of them, stayed away, and no " House " could be formed. A. great deal of bluster was indulged in by the party who found themselves so quietly, but effectually check-mated, and a " call of the House " was threatened to'be moved on the next evening, (last night). Unfortunately for them, however, the courage of these " honorable " members, seems like that of Bob Acres to have " oozed out at the end of their fingers," and so yesterday — if we may believe common report — six or seven of them sent their resignations to the Superindent, thus leaving the unlucky Speaker and Clerk no option but that of attending four times a week, until they — instead «f the Superintendent — may be " dissolved,"^ cheerful prospect which can only be made endurable, or escaped from, by " resignation." Should any one ask the reason of this last freak, (a question that would imply an amount of rationality on the part of those who have thus amused themselves and the public, to which we scarcely think them entitled), we should say, that, petulance and mortification are the most palpable reasons, ahd under these an uncomfortable consciousness that thus to " resign " was the only way for them to escape from that dismissal which will prove a final and most humiliating one to the greatest part of their number. But their discomfiture awakens the hopes of the true friends of this Province. The rats have forsaken what they deem to be a sinking ship, but it is only the rotten plank to which they cling that is going down, and this being once removed, the vessel will be left "tight, stanch, and strong, and every way fit for her intended voyage," and we therefore close in the accustomed form of the old-fashioned bills of lading, " and so God send the good ship to her desired port in safety."